Peter the Great

Peter the Great (9 June 1672-8 February 1725) was the Czar of Russia from 1682 until his death in 1725. He was the Czar who modernized the Kingdom of Russia, founded the Russian Navy, and founded the Russian Empire.

Biography
Czar of Russia from 1682, Peter I was a relentless modernizer. He imported the expertise of foreign advisers but also traveled to the west incognito in the 1690s to study shipbuilding and military organization. He suppressed a revolt by the streltsy, Russia's traditional military elite, and created a Western-style regular army and navy.

The defeat suffered at the hands of the Swedes at Narva in 1700 showed how much work was required to make the Russian army an efficient fighting force. The victory at Poltava nine years later gave the measure of Peter's achievement - and a rare example of his ability as a field commander.

Peter achieve his strategic objective of turning Russia intoi a maritime power. At his death, navies were operating on the Baltic and the Black Sea.